Chapter 172: *Hidden Title*
--- Chapter 169 ---
The Monster's Dimension, or what people in the past known as the "Origin Womb." was a gray area where all monster races originated. It's a chaotic place, which is basically on life support.
At first, only rough white rocks floated above a complete abyss that would swallow one for eternity if one fell into it.
There is no blue sky or light source.
Not even a single body of water.
This place is doomed.
Nevertheless, the monster race persisted and evolved to survive in this environment, making their bodies much more durable and adaptable to any situation.
Well, not for long.
They wouldn't adapt to Death.
And Death always chases after you.
BOOM!
Thick shadowy flame wisp exploded within the gray dimension, burning several floating rocks into ashes. A giant that seemed made of a blinking crimson-black shadow moved through the explosion and threw a massive white rock toward the monster race's breeding camp.
ROAR!
"ENEMY, ATTACK!"
"ENEMY! THE RULER OF SHADOW IS HERE!"
"HE HAS INFILTRATED OUR DIMENSION!"
BOOM!
Before the monster race could react, a rain of arrows ambushed them like no tomorrow. Since this dimension wasn't that well-illuminated, it was hard to dodge a swarm of attacks.
"ARGHHH!"
The shadow army stepped into the breeding camp, rushing forward with their menacing-looking weapons. A shadow centaur triple the size of a normal one ran with all his might, swinging a twin battle ax.
An extreme bloodlust exploded from the shadow centaur as his battle ax's movement caused the whole camp to tumble around a little.
"For OUR LIEGE!" The shadow centaur waved his battle axes, making a series of earthquakes.
The shadow army wasn't affected by this, advancing to eliminate the breeding camp. They bumped against millions of 10th-Class Monsters in this area but won in qualities as the darkness in this place makes them more powerful.
BOOM! CRACK!
The massive land they currently inhabit was split in half, gaining attention from the 11th Class Monster nearby.
"YOU TRAITOR!" A giant minotaur kicked the air and smashed the shadow warrior with its fist. "HOW DARE YOU BETRAY YOUR BRETHREN!"
He was about the destroy the breeding camp with its massive hand, but a pink-haired woman suddenly appeared before him. "Thunder Roc's Missiles." She pointed her finger at the minotaurs.
Bam!
A pillar of light burned the minotaur's head to a crisp, leaving only a thick skull.
The pink-haired woman clasped her hand firmly, summoning a massive bird with a wingspan of over 1000 miles. She grinned and looked at the lining rocks before her eyes, shooting a beam of destruction.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Another woman with light pink hair kicked an island-like rock with her leg, sending it to another monster breeding camp nearby. Despite being a 10th Class Devil Warrior, her power exceeded that.
BAM!
The rock flew faster than one could see, causing rapid destruction.
Several 11th-Class Monsters gathered far away, observing the situation with a discerning gaze. A fox-headed monster opened its mouth and commented, "This is bad."
"We have lost 20% of our army. At this rate, the plan will fail."
A goat-headed sneered and said, "A bunch of peasant ants dares to step into my domain. Let me kill them for our glory."
"It won't take me five minutes to deal with them."
"Wait!" Another monster shouted. It was an owl-headed monster with clear judgmental eyes. "We can't attack rashly. I know it's within our blood but from the report. The Ruler of Shadow might turn you into his shadow army too."
"He'd swallow us if we got too railed by his advance."
"Almost all 12th Class Monsters are busy trying to summon Nether God. We won't get their help until the ritual is over."
"We should pinpoint The Ruler of Shadow's location and kill him quickly. That's the only way for us to win."
Hearing the wisest monster's advice, the 11th Class Monsters shut their mouths for a moment.
"Leave it to me."
A brave-looking monster stepped forward.
They looked at the lion-headed monster and sighed because this guy possessed the best sense out of all of them.
"Go ahead, Leo." The owl's head nodded in understanding.
The lion-headed monster activated his Monster's Blessing and saw the world around him from another perspective. He smelled something dangerous from afar. Something different.
No, someone that awakened primal fear in Leo's monster's blood.
Gasp!
Leo suddenly arrived in a gloomy world, facing a terrifying pair of scarlet eyes. These eyes possessed devilish qualities beyond anything he had witnessed for his entire life.
Within this bloody ocean, Leo could see an unparalleled shadow that could even devour the source of the universe.
He instinctively shuddered and deactivated his Monster's Blessing, puking blood.
"Leo! What happened?!" The owl's head supported his brethren, frowning at his current condition.
"R-Run."
"Run?"
"W-We should run! NOW!" Leo screamed at the top of his lungs, leaving everyone speechless.
SWOOSH!
A winged-shadow warrior appeared before them, creating several pieces of weaponry coated with shadow energy. She launched several lances at them and immobilized half of the 11th Class Monsters.
The other half reacted, responding with their Monster's Blessings.
BOOM!
Several manifestations and powers gathered in one place, pushing the winged-shadow warrior into a tight spot. Well, they are far from injuring her.
An unadulterated domain filled with crow feathers expanded from the winged-shadow warrior, resisting every power that came toward her.
KACHA!
The manifestation of the monster race's abilities broke under the domain.
"What!"
"Impossible!"
"My Monster's Blessing is..."
They are dumbfounded because this domain could resist their powers.
TING! TING!
A metal clashing noise echoed in the gray dimension, making the monster nervous as the power of the sun and moon traveled across this poorly-lighted world.
The shower of arrows descended from above, raining on the area near the winged-shadow warrior. These arrows are imbued with the power of stars, meaning that killing 11th Class Monsters isn't so hard with it.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The monsters couldn't endure the attack and passed away on the spot with several holes in their bodies. And before they could fall into an endless abyss. The eternal shadow realm caught them.
"Arise." That one word resonated, triggering something within the monster corpses.
A horrifying scene unfolds in front of the monster race's eyes. Their brethren became part of The Ruler of Shadow's army.
"NOOO!" The owl-headed monster shouted in dread.
"Don't worry, you'll follow them soon." An armored shadow knight with dim bluish light appeared. He seemed to step on thin air, standing before the owl-headed monster. There is also a red light escaping its helmet.
"Y-You-!"
"The Ruler of Shadow-!"
A halberd penetrated through the owl's chest, destroying him from the inside.
...
...
Huo Yuhao looked down at the owl's corpse and said, "Arise."
[You have successfully turned Abyssal Owl Monster into Shadow Warrior]
[You have successfully turned Abyssal Lion Monster into Shadow Warrior]
[You have successfully turned Abyssal Wolf Monster into Shadow Warrior]
[You have successfully turned Abyssal Goat Monster into Shadow Warrior]
[You have successfully turned Abyssal Viper Monster into Shadow Warrior]
[You have successfully turned Abyssal Tiger Monster into Shadow Warrior]
[You have successfully turned Abyssal Unicorn Monster into Shadow Warrior]
Huo Yuhao ignored Evo's notification and read his new shadow warrior's memory for a second, gaining information about another part of this dimension.
He frowned and mumbled, "12th Class Monsters... The Nether God."
"Sacrifice and Summoning."
"Nox. Do you know something about this?"
Being called by Huo Yuhao, Nox Alexandra poked her head out of the shadows and replied, "Hmm... I have never heard such a name before, master."
"Even if I still have a connection to the hivemind, there is no such thing as "Nether God." recorded in this universe."
"This being is probably an outsider."
"Though, something does bother me."
"Oh, Tell me?" Huo Yuhao broadened his senses even further. They have been fighting in this dimension for 18 hours and find no end to it.
Nox Alexandra opened her mouth and replied, "If the rule and order Nox Emperor maintained are still going on. Then, the Everlith Universe couldn't get invaded by an outside force."
"Ah, nothing should be able to pass through."
"But..." She glanced at Huo Yuhao.
"..." Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao facepalmed in realization because he was the one who triggered the Emergency Quest from Ancient Ink Devil's bloodline. The System replicated the Millenium Crusade Event, assigning him a task to protect the castle and eradicate all the monster races.
'I'll have a lot of questions after this, Evo...' He thought while focusing on his problem first.
[...]
Gathering more information by conquering the monster's dimension, Huo Yuhao and his shadow army arrived at the continental-sized floating rock.
A pillar of purple energy soared to the sky with several towers lit up by low-classed monsters below it. Huo Yuhao could see a weird-looking pattern spreading across this floating rock, making the ground pulsate with a weird aura.
As if this floating rock is alive, which Huo Yuhao is inclined to think so.
Huo Yuhao blinked once, and a 12th Class Monster suddenly appeared out of nowhere, attacking him in the chest. It was a killing move for sure, aiming for his vital area.
BOOM!
CRACK!
Huo Yuhao's Eternal Shadow Armor was "slightly." cracked. Even the Armament Haki couldn't protect him from that attack.
"That. That didn't kill you? How weird..." The 12th Class Monster before Huo Yuhao has a similar stature to that of a human. Instead of an animal's head, this guy only has antlers on top of his head.
Huo Yuhao kept his head calm and kicked the air below him, launching a roundhouse kick. It was "casually." caught by the 12th Class Monster, but Huo Yuhao immediately reacted and used "ripple." to vibrate everything around him.
BAM!
The monster got pushed away.
Huo Yuhao didn't stop and kept launching a bombardment of attacks, assessing the power of 12th Class Monsters. After exchanging some blows, he concluded something.
BAM!
"Kuugh! You damned kroman!" The monster was irritated because Huo Yuhao was deflecting his attack. Nothing passed through this weird defensive technique.
Crack!
Despite not receiving any damage himself, Huo Yuhao's inner armor went through intense pressure against the 12th Class Monster. After all, The black star armor set is only effective against being below 11th Class.
CRACK!
"What's My liege doing?" Brunhilde couldn't watch this fight. She knew Huo Yuhao shouldn't have a problem fighting the low 12th Class Monster with his current strength. He literally blew peak 11th Class Monster into pieces with one attack.
Behind the helmet, Huo Yuhao grinned and pushed his cultivation art to the utmost limit. His energy cores are rotating rapidly like no tomorrow.
Crack!
The inner armor is breaking apart, but Huo Yuhao doesn't care.
'An opening!' The 12th Class Devil Warrior saw a gap in Huo Yuhao's movement. 'Now, Die!!'
Swinging his fist heavily, the 12th Class Devil Warrior punched Huo Yuhao's chest with all his might. It causes a glass-shattering noise, but that's it.
Kacha!
[Ding! You have leveled up]
[You have breakthrough 11th Class Devil Warrior(Low)]
[You have breakthrough 11th Class Devil Warrior(Mid)]
[You have a breakthrough 11th Class Devil Warrior(High)]
[You have attained 11th Class Devil Warrior(Peak)]
[Due to the extreme amount of your Inner Energy, Mental Power, and Bloodline Prowess. You have leveled up]
[You have entered into 12th Class Devil Warrior(Low)]
[Gathering of Ten Thousand Waves has leveled up to level 8]
[Endless Black Ocean Art has reached level 21]
"Thank you for the spar." Huo Yuhao genuinely said, clenching his right hand into a fist.
"This-!"
BAM!
Huo Yuhao executed a simple yet powerful straight, connecting his fist to the 12th Class Monster's face. It holds none of his energy but pure martial intent to destroy something.
SWOOSH! KABOOM!
The 12th Class Monster vanished into nothingness.
A shockwave followed shortly after, brushing the massive continent-like floating rock slightly. It was just a slight touch and enough to shake the whole thing.
Staring at the cause of his attack, Huo Yuhao breathed out and mumbled, "12th Class Devil Warrior... It's close to a fake 3rd Class God in the Douluo Dalu Universe."
"Well, it doesn't matter."
Over a thousand 12th-Class Monsters appeared and hovered above the continent-sized floating rock. They possessed a more intense presence than the one Huo Yuhao killed a second ago.
It seemed the 2nd Emperor of the Karuta Empire made a mistake in his observation. There is more than he warned them about in his dying message.
Well, Huo Yuhao couldn't blame him.
"The real battle started now."
"Everyone, follow me." Huo Yuhao moved with his halberd.
"YES, MY LIEGE/MASTER~!!!"
...
...
Three years later.
The monster's dimension fell into complete chaos. No, it was destruction.
At the vastest piece of land, a pile of several billion monster corpses lying all over. Shadows are looming around, flickering like candlelight.
A black-haired young man with half-destroyed armor and helmet sat on the tallest pile of corpses. His lean yet muscular body is full of scars and fresh wounds after facing all the monsters in this place. Yet, those red eyes keep shining menacingly.
"Master. Maybe you should rest for a little." Mercy climbed onto the corpse pile. Her beautiful face is full of worry.
Huo Yuhao drank a recovery potion and replied, "No, I can't. There is still some monster left in this place."
"How long have we been fighting again? Three years? Well, I can still work with it."
Indeed, Huo Yuhao has fought in this dimension for three years without stopping nor a single blink of sleep, slaughtering every monster his eyes set on.
[Objective: 99.999.999.000/100.000.000.001]
"Just one thousand and one more..." Huo Yuhao's eyes focused on the system panel.
"Evo, my status."
[Opening Status]
[Name: Theomars von Valstrax(Huo Yuhao)]
[Age: 22 years old]
[Race: Ancient Ink Devil(Peak/99%)]
[Cultivation: 12th Class Devil Warrior(Peak/Recultivated)]
[Battle Power: Deity Class(Mid)]
[Passive Skill: Ancient Devil's Regeneration(SSS), Poison Immunity(SSS), Devil Force: Forced Plundering(S), Tracing(S+), Art Mastery(SS), Perfect Body(SSS), Perfect Control(SSS), Weapon Mastery(SSS+), Cold-Blooded(SS), Ogre King's Devil Flame(SS), Steel-Like Body(SS), Moonlight Energy(SS), Beastification(SS)]
[Active Skill: Darkness Manipulation, Death Manipulation, Spatial Manipulation, All-Transforming Ink(SS+), Eternal Shadow(269.800+), Devil Trigger(SS), Ink Domain(SS+), Devil's Taboo(SSS)]
[Plundered Devil Force: Illusionary Manifestation(1 Use left)]
[Technique: Gathering of Ten Thousand Waves, Extreme Lightning Mirage, Haki(+), White Room's Martial Arts, Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, Endless Black Ocean Art]
[Description: The Castellan of Black Pearl Castle, Vasltrax's only heir, Titania's beloved, Nox Emperor's beloved, and Monster Slaughterer]
"Nonsense." Huo Yuhao commented when reading his description.
Fixing his Eternal Shadow Armor, Huo Yuhao looked down at the corpse below his foot. "Arise... Let's finish this quest." He said indifferently.
BOOM!
As the last monster camp was "completely." destroyed by Huo Yuhao, there was only one place left where they could live. They are the strongest of the strongest from the monster race, possessing power above the 12th Class Monster despite being one.
Huo Yuhao and his shadow army arrived at the center of this dimension, finding exactly 1000 thousand 12th Class Monsters.
"Oh well, you guys are greeting me? That's rare." Huo Yuhao mocked while grasping his halberd.
The monsters responded quietly.
They glared at Huo Yuhao with hatred and fury because this person slaughtered their brethren like they were grass.
"There is no discussion left in this situation. It is a full-blown war between you guys and me."
"Let's end this already..."
"SACRIFICIAL LAMB FORMATION!" Ten 12th Class Monsters surrounded Huo Yuhao and the shadow army. "ACTIVATE!!!"
The monsters seemed to possess a formation technique, making Huo Yuhao slightly weak. The formation is nothing special and a primitive form of an unknown language spell.
[A powerful curse: "Heart-Devouring and Soul-Destroying Curses." planted on your soul]
[Nether God has marked your soul]
[All Stats reduced by 25%]
[DING! You have finished the second stage of the Millenium Crusade]
[You have started the final phase]
[Nether God's Arrival]
[Final Phase started in 30 minutes]
[Warning! Kill two Monster Monarchs before it is too late. Or the Nether God would be able to use 100% of his power]
The 800 of the 12th Class Monsters split into two groups, eating each other to become the two most "powerful." monsters ever recorded in history.
After the ritual, a twin monster with the appearance of a young girl and a boy floated silently above the black hole. They didn't possess special features besides the gleaming slitted golden eyes.
They opened their eyes and stared at Huo Yuhao.
"Kill."
"Kill."
An innocent, sounded voice echoed in the monster's dimension.
Huo Yuhao felt a shiver in his spine, turning around and thrusting his halberd to empty air.
BAM!
He was "suddenly." launched several kilometers away.
"That's new..." Huo Yuhao licked the blood from the corner of his mouth.
[Name: Unknowns]
[Race: Monster(Ultimate)]
[Battle Power: Deity(Mid)]
"Master/My Liege!" The shout of worry comes from his servant.
Huo Yuhao raised his hand, indicating that he was okay from the sneak attack. "Focus on your side. They might have only one hundred 12th-Class Monsters left there, but they are the strongest of the strongest."
"I'll deal with this twin monster."
The Shadow Army understood the assignment, starting to march forward and attacking the one hundred 12th Class Monsters left. Admante Sisters also dropped down on the battlefield and supported the best they could.
Huo Yuhao lifted the halberd and dodged a claw attack from the twin's monsters. They seemed able to transform or use any monster abilities freely.
Clank!
He threw his halberd at the female Monster Monarch and watched the male one approaching him from behind. His hand was coated with an advanced version of Armament Haki, blocking an incoming tusk.
BAM!
He quickly kicked the male Monster Monarch, teleporting himself to the halberd. The female Monster Monarch seemed to anticipate this movement, but she was wrong.
CRACK!
Huo Yuhao let out a bubble-like energy blast from his palm, making the Female Monster Monarch's eyes widen. It was too fast for her to defend herself, having no choice but to create a meat shield from her flesh.
BOOM!
The Female Monster Monarch's left arm turned into this fleshy abomination, pulsating with power. Huo Yuhao's bubbles can pass through her arm but are not strong enough to reach her body.
"KILL!"
The Male Monster Monarch appeared and stabbed Huo Yuhao from behind with his tusk-like hand. It pierced Huo Yuhao's abdomen successfully.
"Behind you-!" The Female Monster Monarch alerted her twin.
BOOM!
Huo Yuhao exploded into a mist of ink, allowing the real Huo Yuhao to slam his fist into Male Monster Monarch's spine. This punch is dangerous and possesses the strength to blow a small planet apart.
SWOOSH! BAM! CRACK!
Huo Yuhao could feel the spine of the Male Monster Monarch getting broken into pieces, which also applies to all the bones within its body. However, it's not as effective as he thought.
"Kill." The Male Monster Monarch's flesh latched onto Huo Yuhao's fist and shone with a crimson ray. The light is blinking rapidly before exploding.
"Damn-!" Huo Yuhao cursed while shielding himself.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Everything within 1000 miles was "literally." covered with an intense explosion. For a moment, the monster's dimension got illuminated with bright light. The scorching temperature was similar to that of the Big Bang's heat.
Cough!
"Haa... I almost died there." Huo Yuhao spewed a mouthful of blood, having all his Eternal Shadow Armor stripped out by the explosion. He consumed too much inner energy to resist the explosion, or he would get fatally injured.
And possibly burned to nothingness on the spot.
He knew the shadow army and his slaves were fine as they got protected by Eternal Shadow Realm. The problem is the Monster Monarch themselves.
"Fucking hell, you're still alive."
The Male Monarch has turned into a lump of flesh, steadily growing back into his original form. He obviously consumed an insane amount of life force to execute that suicide-like attack, which left Huo Yuhao frowning.
"Kill." He chased after Huo Yuhao again.
"Kill." The Female Monster Monarch followed too.
Huo Yuhao entered a stance and commented, "Come on. We don't have much time left."
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
In a dark dimension, Huo Yuhao battled against the twin Monster Monarchs. He waved his halberd calmly, creating a wave that repelled every incoming attack.
After observing the Deity-level enemies, Huo Yuhao discovered their fighting was "strictly." based on animalistic instinct. The twin would transform their body part into a monster, attacking him like prey.
Huo Yuhao breathed in using Universal Breathing Technique, expanding his danger sense to another level. He stepped into the space and dodged sharp-looking teeth.
BAM!
He caught the Female Monster Monarch's crab pinchers, attacking her shoulder joints. "Bubble Burst." He adds Inner Destruction to the Female Monster Monarch's body when he makes contact with her.
He would immobilize them slowly before using one of his trump cards.
Twenty-five minutes later, Huo Yuhao and the twin monster monarch arrived on the edge of Monster's Dimension. They have destroyed 90% of this place, ripping everything apart.
Breathing heavily, Huo Yuhao looked at the incoming attacks from both of them. 'They are slower for some reason...' His red eyes dilated slightly.
'No, my technique finally affects them. No matter how powerful their physique was, Inner Destruction powered with indefinite rotation energy waves is impossible to resist.'
'Which means... It's time to end this.'
"Kill!" The Twin Monster Monarch lunged toward Huo Yuhao.
However, to the Monster Monarchs' surprise, Huo Yuhao suddenly threw away his halberd and opened his arm wide. He allowed them to attack him.
STAB!
Huo Yuhao's chest is "brutally." penetrated by the twin monsters, exposing his heart and many other things.
Hugging the monsters, Huo Yuhao smiled and whispered, "Ink Domain: Absolute Moon World."
A drop of ink escaped Huo Yuhao's body, covering him and the monsters in liquid darkness. It expanded greatly and covered the whole monster's dimension in a matter of a second.
Huo Yuhao pushed Ink Domain to the limit, intending to seal this place alongside it.
"DIE!"
"DIE!"
The Monster Monarch shouted angrily, but Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, "Within Ink Domain, which I have enhanced with my Devil's Taboo. All attacks are useless against me."
"This is my world."
"This is my domain."
"Shuush, children should go to sleep." Huo Yuhao patted the twin Monster Monarch's head gently.
The Ink World swallowed the Monster's Dimension whole and abruptly condensed back into a drop of ink, leaving nothing behind. Huo Yuhao unsummoned all his shadow army and hurriedly jumped out of the crack.
He crashed onto Grand Marshal Mountain, which is no longer submerged in seawater because his attack had dropped the sea level of this world.
"Almost there." He sighed and heard Evo's notification.
[You have killed the Twin Monster Monarch]
[Objective: 100.000.000.000/100.000.000.001]
[The Final Phase has started]
[Sabotage Nether God's plan to conquer Titania Bolos]
Huo Yuhao's expression becomes solemn all of a sudden.
TING!
He shuddered uncontrollably and saw a purple-skinned hand with sharp claw-like fingers pass through his chest, which had regenerated a few seconds ago.
"I can't sense-."
Huo Yuhao glanced back and discovered a faceless humanoid being with purple skin and black markings all over its body.
He was speechless because this guy's grin reached his elf-like purple ears.
"So, you're the Ruler of Shadow? I praised you for defeating my sacrificial lamb but with your current strength." The Nether God said arrogantly. "Even a thousand of you aren't enough to fight me."
"Such trash. As expected of this 2nd-Class Microsome Universe."
"Oh well, there aren't many Deity Level Beings here. Conquering this place shouldn't even take a year for this majestic me."
Huo Yuhao grabbed the hand that pierced his chest and used all his strength to bend it away. "Do you think destroying my heart will be enough to kill me..." He said indifferently.
"Dream on." Huo Yuhao ignited all his cores, activating his Devil Trigger instantly. "My will is eternal."
The Nether God's grin widened, warping his faceless face with a spiral-like shape. "Hahaha... How ungrateful."
Huo Yuhao suddenly couldn't feel anything. Even his passive and active skills seemed not to work.
"I have sealed your soul source. And overwrite your whole being with my authority. After this, you'll experience pain beyond mortal belief and die out of agony."
"Dream well and Never wake up... Lowly shadow." Nether God ripped Huo Yuhao's head and crushed it like a grape. His headless body turned into a bloody black mist a second later.
The Nether God stretched his hand and laughed maniacally.
"HAHA!"
"HAHAHA~!!"
"FINALLY! THIS WORLD SHALL BE MINE!"
"I'LL TAKE THIS WORLD AND RENAME IT NETHER GOD REALM!"
[You have died]
[You have used "Illusionary Manifestation." before your Death]
[You have fulfilled a condition to master "Eternal Shadow."]
[You have met the final requirement to activate Ancient Ink Demon's True Power]
[You have resisted Soul-Altering Ability with a unique perk: Endless Soul Waves]
[Gathering of Ten Thousand Waves reacted upon your Death]
[A wisp of primordial will awakened]
[Titania von Valstrax called you to her realm]
[After further observation, the System decides to accept it...]
[Moving Host's Soul to Three Thousand Ink Worlds of End...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
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